Newsletter

Posted September 8, 2017 07:32 pm

Letter: Neglecting to mention facts

U.S. Census Bureau. (Facebook)

Why did I have to read in the small Metro Voice News that Kansas spends quite a lot on public schools? New data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2015 show that the state provided 66 percent of total school funding in Kansas while the national average was just 47 percent.

At $12,418 per pupil, Kansas is ranked number 25 in the nation for total spending on public education. Since 2001, spending per pupil in Kansas has grown by 70 percent, well above the national average of 51 percent. This makes Kansas 16th in the nation in terms of spending over time. What we read in The Topeka Capital-Journal and other media is that Kansas schools are starving for money so a massive influx of tax money is desperately needed. So we got a large tax increase, which Gov. Sam Brownback did not want for the people of Kansas.

I didn’t see any mention of these facts in The Topeka Capital-Journal when all the discussion was going on. Why?